Nursing students' attitudes toward reporting child abuse and neglect: A cross-sectional study in Turkey

Abstract

Topic

Nurses are uniquely positioned to provide early diagnoses and interventions for abused, neglected, or at-risk children. They are also required, by law, to report suspected child abuse. However, little is known about the attitudes of student and registered nurses in reporting cases of abuse.

Purpose

This study aimed to identify nursing students' attitudes and related factors toward reporting child abuse and neglect in Turkey.

Sources

This cross-sectional study was carried out with the online participation of 1170 nursing students. The scale for determining the attitudes of health professionals in reporting child abuse (ACAS) was administered together with questions on demographic information.

Conclusions

ACAS scores of nursing students toward reporting child abuse were average. Younger age, poor perceived academic success, suspecting of a child abuse and neglect case during clinical practice, and male sex were independently associated with higher ACAS scores. Therefore, education programs for nursing students should focus on improving their attitudes toward reporting child abuse and neglect.